Truth is, there are MORE than 10,000 reasons to systematize your business.
How do I know?
When we first started organizing our business using a systemic approach, it shocked us how well it worked. The turnaround in our business was immediate. In fact, it encouraged other business owners who witnessed our improvement. It also launched a new career for us!
Consider now, this list of some benefits we gained from systemic organization:
- Within a matter of months, errors went down from a whopping 7% of total sales to 1.5% of total sales. All due to our Quality Assurance System.
- Delivering jobs and service to our clients, on-time, every time, became a number we could prove, because we measured it. How about 99.7% accuracy for naysayers?
- When we finished implementing the system we call the 100% System of Cleanliness, most everyone entering our building was amazed at our transformation. Importantly, we no longer wasted hours searching for items and job materials due to clutter. In fact, this started our Tour Of Lean.
- With our Daily Routine Checklist system in place, everyone knew what to do without management constantly overseeing them. Our employees could manage themselves.
- After leaving the office, I no longer received umpteen calls to my cell phone asking directions on solving production problems.
- Our equipment operated at peak performance, due to our Preventive Maintenance system and Repair Request System. In short, bottlenecks due to equipment failure ceased to be an issue.
More Reasons to Organize Systematically
- Working 10 to 14 hours a day was no longer necessary, because I learned how to delegate tasks and all operations, systematically. In fact, leaving the office for weeks at a time with no issues became the norm. Taking full advantage of that benefit was life-changing and fun. · Operating our business was much simpler, due to our comprehensive Operations Manual that left nothing to chance.
- The “mom & pop” mentality of running a business disappeared the day employees witnessed our first system working as designed. That’s when “buy-in” by employees happened.
- With waste reduction, came fewer bottlenecks, due to rework. Therefore, increasing throughput and adding to our bottom-line.
- Removing chaos throughout the front offices and production areas ushered in a more peaceful culture. Like a Symphony of Order! · New hires hit the ground running, due to a detailed Orientation System that left nothing to chance. Saving countless hours of retraining and repeating instructions ad nauseam, concerning operations.
- Double ordering of supplies, due to inaccurate inventory, was a thing of the past using our Inventory System. · Building our business to “sell it,” or continuing to run it and “loving it,” was now optional. In short, family members taking over a business can avoid the heartaches they’ve seen their parents experience by owning a well-organized business.
Are 10,000 reasons to Systematize Your Business calling you?
There’s an inspirational song with lyrics that go, “I will keep on singing, ten thousand reasons…” I can tell you, when we finished implementing the systems that ran our business like a well-oiled machine, I would often find myself singing it around the house. For the simple reason, our vision had come to fruition!
Those dreams of doing the things you’ve always wanted to do, but never had the time, open a world of reasons why an owner should systematize their business, including…
- Extended vacations with family
- Working on a favorite hobby
- Starting a new career
- Getting more involved in children’s school
- Ministry opportunities
- Participating in local politics
- Restoring an old house or building
- Buying a farm in the country
- Starting another business
- Franchising a current business
Just imagine, there are an infinite number of reasons to systematize your business, and the benefits are limitless!
Did I mention? Great systems work!
Philip Beyer, founder/president of Ebiz Products LLC and founder of Beyer Printing Inc. in Nashville Tenn., is a chronic entrepreneur, business systems analyst and consultant. Author of "System Busters: How to Stop Them in Your Business" and recipient of an InterTech Technology Award for the design and development of System100 business process management software. Beyer speaks to business owners across the country on how to bring lean, sustainable order to their businesses. Contact him at (615) 425-2652.